IEG round 2 funding rewards diverse ambitions
A significant move by the Wikimedia Foundation has been the broadening of the types of activities it funds. To this end, the Foundation has developed several quite different forums for allocating that funding, setting up volunteer committees that conduct initial assessments of competitive applications. The most recent of these programs was the individual engagement grants (IEG) scheme, launched last January. The scheme awards funds to individuals or teams of up to four people to produce high-impact outcomes for the WMF's online projects. The IEG scheme favours innovative approaches to solving critical issues in the movement. This arm of WMF grantmaking is different from the Funds Dissemination Committee, which started more than a year ago and judges applications for annual operating grants by eligible afilliated organisations.
The IEG committee has just announced the results of its second twice-yearly round. There are seven successful applications for projects that are striking for their reach and diversity, underlining the complex and multidimensional nature of the Wikimedia movement. The allocations—some of them based on applications of impressive quality—involve on-the-ground social, cultural, and technical innovations. Individuals from Cameroon, Uganda, India, Israel, France, Italy, Germany, and the US will begin their projects in the new year, most of which will run from January to June.